Do You Need Glasses?

Today I thought I’d change it up a bit and talk less about food or drink and more about the vessels that contain them.

As I’ve mentioned in a few different posts, I have a pretty extensive collection of vintage barware. Most of my pieces are from the 50’s to the 70’s, and as my collection grows, the focus widens a bit. It started with glasses, but now encompasses all of the paraphernalia, from swizzle sticks to olive picks. A chip and dip bowl and pickle plate have also found their way into my heart, and of course, there’s the recipe books for both food and drink. Anything that relates to entertaining and is of a reasonable age is worthy of consideration. So here are a few highlights.

In terms of actual glassware I am fairly picky – I want the piece to have character, whether it’s kitschy or classy. In the former category that includes these amazing pirate glasses. I paid a dollar for the whole set!
These are easily the best thing in the house from which to drink rum.

Then, of course, there’s these ladies. Slightly NSFW, I suppose, though if you’re aroused by a glass there’s another issue.

They’re from the 70’s, and as you can see, they “strip” when you add liquid, although it’s readily apparent what’s under the white “clothes.” My attraction to these is two-fold: 1. I am a sucker for this simple sort of magic trick and 2. There’s something rather wholesome and very 70’s about these nude ladies.

They pair well with this bottle opener:

I think that piece is wonderfully elegant and moves us back toward the classy end of the spectrum. Another brass bottle opener:
I actually bought it for the motif on the other side:

My grandmother loved owls, and several of her grandchildren have continued the tradition. I’ve got a few pieces. Check out these cute Danish olive picks:

What I love the most about my collection is that it doesn’t just take up space – I actually use all of it. When people come over it gives me a great deal of pleasure to fix them the cocktail of their choice in a vintage glass, and serve a few snacks on my pickle plate. There’s plenty more to share, so I think I’ll do multiple posts from time to time. I’ll leave you for now with my two newest acquisitions. The first is an absolutely insane decanter that I picked up at the Holyoke flea market:

How great is he, with his little gold chain? It was in great condition, too!

The last is a beautiful chip and dip bowl from Hollis. This is coming out at the next party: